Indoor grow lights are an essential part of an indoor garden, especially if you live in an area without much natural sunlight. A grow light lets your plants engage in photosynthesis so they can get bigger. But picking the right light can be challenging, especially with so much conflicting information available.

Full-spectrum LED grow lights are all the rage among indoor gardeners. But some are better quality than others. We've taken a look at some top market recommendations, plus written a quick guide for how to understand full spectrum LED recommendations. I hope this article will help you.

Are LED grow lights any good?

LEDs (Light-emitting Diodes) are growing in popularity against the decades-old players such as HID, High-Pressure Sodium, and Fluorescent to replicate the sun's rays in an indoor garden.

LED is a clear winner with its upsides in HID vs Fluorescent vs LEDs comparison. The main advantages of LED, over the traditional light sources, includes significantly reduced heat emission and power consumption. As LED light produces less heat than their counterparts, more energy effective and much easier to keep cool and maintain. If you skip white light and stick with red/blue LEDs only, as these emit specific wavelengths most suitable for photosynthesis. This way you can save a lot of money on electricity costs. The LEDs also last substantially longer than any other type of light.

How Do LED Lights Work When Growing Cannabis

Modern LED lights have made great strides in the cultivation of weed. They are far more effective than growing light systems that were popular just a few years ago. Today's systems feature full-spectrum lighting, also known as wideband spectrum. This means that they are not limited to emitting only blue and red lighting as was most commonly seen in most "traditional" grow light systems dash the kind that gave off the bluish-purple hue that was often called "blurple". New LED light systems to incorporate green light into the purple and blue spectrum, which have been proven to improve and accelerate plant growth. The full spectrum lighting is also less stressful on the eyes.

During the plant's flowering and budding stage, the spectrum colors red, far-red, and infrared are instrumental in the health and development of the plant and its components. The manufacturers of modern LED light systems have created unique lenses that concentrate the light's rays directly onto the plant. This results in deeper penetration and greater yield.

Fohse ARIES 640W (100–277V) LED Grow Light

Features:

The Fohse LED grow light deploys an advantage you won't find anywhere else - swiveling light bars to achieve maximum canopy penetration by cross illumination to neighboring grow plots. Unlike obsolete plasma burning grow lights the Aries has no 'Infrared Spike' in its spectrum, meaning drastically less heat radiating down on and damaging your canopy. Your grow environment isn't the friendliest place for sensitive electronics. That's why the Aries can withstand the intense conditions of your growth. It's impervious to hitchhikers (dust, mites, aphids, spores). It can even withstand full submersion in 1 meter of water. Early generation LED lamps failed the industry due to low output + poor canopy penetration. The secret of Aries' success starts with abundant PAR focused onto your canopy by polycarbonate focal lenses.

LEX Grow 1800+ 640 Watt Commercial and Home LED Grow Light

Features:

The Lex Grow LED gives off a wonderful output for your growing needs. The fixture produces a high-intensity full spectrum output mean to outperform any DE 1000w HPS out there. Using just 640 watts, this light provides the same sun-like characteristics that plants crave without the downfalls of high energy pullers and high heat. The Lex Grow 1800 Pro puts out a high-intensity full spectrum light designed to take over for any DE 1000w HPS lamp while simultaneously increasing efficiency. With a power draw of only 640 watts, this lamp is meant for growers looking to cover larger areas while saving money, power, and time. With over 2.8 PPF/Watt, the Lex Grow is among the most efficient full spectrum LEDs anywhere around.

Our Full-Spectrum Light Buying Guide

Growing your own plants can be very rewarding. Whether you lack the backyard space for a garden and want to grow vegetables in the kitchen, or you love having tons of houseplants around, the proper equipment will help you successfully grow plants indoors. One of the most important tools is full-spectrum light, as this allows you to provide the plant with its preferred amount of light.

When selecting a full-spectrum light, you'll need to consider how big your growing area is. There are units that are designed to provide light for approximately one to four plants.

Check to see how customizable the full-spectrum light is, as you want to ensure it allows you to provide just the right amount of light. For example, some models have three different light settings, while others come with as many as nine dimming levels. You can even purchase a full-spectrum light with a timer that will automatically turn on and off based on the times you enter into the system.

Review the type of light that is used, as you want a full-spectrum light that most resembles the natural light from the sun. Some models imitate sunlight while also being easy on the eyes. Others don't flicker or produce a glare.

Consider a full-spectrum light that runs quietly. Some models use a fan to stay cool to the touch, and these fans are often noisy. Instead, go with a model that is cooled by a thick 3-millimeter aluminum heat sink. This passive heat exchanger runs without making a sound and works by transferring the heat to a cooling medium before expelling it from the machine.

Finally, you'll want to choose a full-spectrum light that is energy efficient. Look for lights that use 600-watt LED lights and are built with a 90-degree reflector that allows you to concentrate the light. This results in losing 30% less light, which means you'll use less energy. Some models are so efficient that they use 50% less electricity than other lights on the market, so make sure you do your homework if you want to keep your electric bill low.

Conclusion

For gardeners, colder temperatures also mean starting seeds indoors. Raising healthy plants indoors is not only rewarding, but it will give you a great time to enjoy fresh herbs in the winter months.

Starting seeds is easy to learn, but it requires time and a bit of effort. Although the process of germination varies, the basics are relatively the same for most types of plants.
Understanding the basic needs of the seed you want to grow along with the right equipment is the key to success in starting seeds indoors.

The support of grow lights when starting seeds indoors, particularly in winter, is the best way to increase success. It is the best solution for newbies to deal with seedlings growing leggy and weak.

Grow lights were designed to mimic the sun's natural spectrum to provide your seedlings indoors with the supplemental light they require to thrive.

Besides, seedlings cannot tell the difference in wavelengths between the grow light and the sun. All they need is to receive an adequate amount of required lights.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experience of the best-performing lighting set-up with your seedlings, feel free to drop a comment below.